Gender - The personal traits and social positions that memebers of a society attach to being female or male.
  • The female gender is typically defined by beauty such as long hair and make up and by sympathy and compassion along with love. This is showcased in Modern Family with the characters Claire Dunphy and Gloria Pritchett. They fit the female gender status to a tee. The male gender is defined by masculinity and protection, as well as being the provider. This is shown very well with Jay Pritchett and Phil Dunphy. They both work hard and provide steady incomes for their families.
Matriarchy - A form of social organization in which females dominate males.
  • A small form of a matriarchy is demonstrated in the Dunphy house. Claire, the mom, seems to rule the household. Phil, while being the adult male in the relationship, seems to have little authority and is portrayed as more of a kid than anything.
Gender roles (sex roles) - Attitudes and activities that a society links to each sex.
  • Gender roles are shown very well in the Pritchett and Dunphy household. The women are stay at home moms that do the cooking and cleaning. They maintain the house and the children which is typical of a female gender role. The males are the ones who have jobs that bring in a salary to provide for their families and put a roof over their heads. Jay is a business man, and Phil is a realtor.
Feminism - Support of social equality for women and men, in opposition to patriarchy and sexism.
  • Feminism is shown in the episode where Phil goes up agaisnt a rival realtor to win a property listing. The rival realtor is a woman, and she is portrayed as just as competent, if not more, of listing the house.
Sexism- The belief that one sex is innately superior to the other.
  • The siblings, (Alex and Luke) always seem to fight over who is smarter. Alex usually ends up saying something along the lines of boys are stupid. So she believes that she is superior to her brother.
Minority- Any category of people distinguished by physical or cultural difference that a society sets apart and subordinates
  • Gloria is part of the minority because she is Colombian. She is viewed differently by society and members of her family.
Intersection theory- Analysis of the interplay of race, class, and gender, which often results in multiple dimensions of disadvantage
  • In one episode Manny is battling a girl in the game of fencing. He feels bad that he ahs to play against a girl so he lets her win a few rounds. But in the end he still beats her. Manny most likely felt like he did not want to be beat by a girl.
Sexual harassment- Comments, gestures, or physical contancts of a sexual nature that are deliberate, repeated, and unwelcome.
  • There is an episode where Manny goes with Phil to a sketchy meeting place to buy a baseball card from a man. Manny is already scared because of the location, but when he sees the man selling the card he is even more frightened. He tells Phil that he thinks the man is bad. When the man comes close to Manny's window, he sprays the man with pepper spray.
claire_and_gloria.jpg
Gender roles are represented by Claire and Gloria. They fulfill the female gender role of keeping the house in order.
gloria.jpg
Gloria is representative of minorities. She is from Columbia.